Stay in the Public Eye

Constantly generating press about your product, having a big yearly goal, and always evaluating whether your packaging is right will help ensure that you stay in the public eye. You're a consumer yourself, so think about how deliberate you are in your buying decisions. If you're like us, you've got about 10-20 products that you buy religiously and many, many types of products (sauces, sodas, breads, etc.) that you buy randomly. To stay in the consumer radar, you've always got to be moving and adapting to the market.

To stay in the public eye:

• It helps to watch your product line and see what sells and doesn't sell. If you have a slow-moving product that has decreasing demand, think about discontinuing it and introducing a new product.
• Come out with as many new products as you can handle every year. A lot of specialty food companies have seasonal products, as well as products that are always available. In the consumer's mind, this creates movement and visibility. Maybe they tried the company's products that are always available and now they see that a new one is out for just a short time. If they think favorably of the product they already own, they are likely to buy the seasonal one.
• If you are at the point where you can handle a larger volume of customers, get a booth at the Dallas Market. Buyers from all over the country go there to buy products for their retail stores and it is great exposure for you. It costs roughly $200 per month and require a yearly contract, but it is worth the investment.

There is never a sure-fire way to survive in the specialty food business, but when small businesses help each other out we all have a better chance. Every day is a new day, right? Let's enjoy it.